If you think AMLs represent the carrying capacity of the land, or are somehow related to it, read this press release about livestock grazing that appeared in Wyoming Livestock Roundup in 2011. Here’s the money quote:

Appropriate Management Levels should be renamed Acceptable Forage Losses, the number of wild horses (or burros) the ranchers are willing to tolerate.

The high horse eats what he wants, when he wants, where he wants. The others know their rung on the social ladder. This behavior is not seen in the adopted mustangs, who will eat from the same pile of hay if necessary, probably because they are family (e.g., watch this video). Filmed on a foggy morning 01/19/19.

The proposed management plan for the Heber WHT is now in the public domain and some wild horse advocates are not happy with it, according to a story that appeared today in the White Mountain Independent.

One person said the collaborative working group that drafted the plan had a pre-set agenda to remove all free roaming horses from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

Another said the group was trying to solve a problem that didn’t exist.

A third person said she was removed from the group because she disagreed with some of the recommendations.

Comments on the plan can be submitted to the Forest Service this summer, according to the report.

Wild horses roam the abandoned coal mines in southern West Virginia, according to a story posted today by the Herald-Dispatch of Huntington, and mine owners don’t always consider them a welcome addition.

Tinia Creamer, founder of the Heart of Phoenix rescue, says many were abandoned by people who don’t want them anymore, or are looking to sell them but let them go to save money until a buyer is found.

She met last week with legislators to discuss the wild horse issues but concedes the meeting focused mostly on tourism, noting that organizations that use the horses for that take no responsibility for their care.

Given that things didn’t go exactly as planned, she wonders what the legislators might propose and if the horses would be better off left alone.